The Plumbline

Ronald Reagan reminded us, "We are never defeated unless we give up on God." So many times, we announce that we are 'defeated' in one sense or another, not realizing that our real problem is that we 'gave up' on something God told us to hold onto. We actually give up on him because the road got a bit too bumpy, or the issues got a little tougher to handle than we wanted to deal with. The real issue is that we aren't the ones dealing with those issues - he is - we just couldn't wait to see how he'd handle them! Trust in the Lord with all your heart; do not depend on your own understanding. Seek his will in all you do, and he will show you which path to take. (Proverbs 3:5-6) Whenever we seek to understand things through what our own mind interprets, we are missing what only our spirit can understand. The ways of God are very often beyond what our mind can comprehend - we need the Spirit of God, working on our spirit, to help us understand fully what...

Faith is a living, daring confidence in God's grace, so sure and certain that a man could stake his life on it a thousand times. (Martin Luther) Luther also told us to 'pray and let God worry'. Maybe one of the hardest things for us to come to appreciate is how much we like to worry and really don't take that worry to God until we are all 'worried out'. Jesus reminds us, "So don’t worry about these things, saying, ‘What will we eat? What will we drink? What will we wear?’ These things dominate the thoughts of unbelievers, but your heavenly Father already knows all your needs. Seek the Kingdom of God above all else, and live righteously, and he will give you everything you need. So don’t worry about tomorrow, for tomorrow will bring its own worries. Today’s trouble is enough for today." (Matthew 6:31-34) Faith is a living, daring confidence in God's grace - not in our own ability or intelligence. It isn't about what we CAN do as much as it is ab...

“I tell you the truth, if you had faith even as small as a mustard seed, you could say to this mountain, ‘Move from here to there,’ and it would move. Nothing would be impossible.” (Matthew 17:20) Have you ever tried to move a mountain? I have moved sheds, piles of gravel, stones, and the like, but never a mountain! I have moved wheelbarrows full of dirt, filling flower beds and the like, but never the entire mountain - not even a hill! There is something here Jesus wants us to understand: Faith isn't measured as we measure things. It is measured in the hands of God because only he sees the full potential in that small seed of faith. What insurmountable thing or looming challenge do you have over your head right now? Are you trusting God with it? Have you given him the 'little faith' you have, trusting him to show you the full potential wrapped up in that 'tiny seed' of faith you bring to him? Trusting God with what we don't understand or have the ability to fac...

Sometimes we make the process more complicated than we need to. We will never make a journey of a thousand miles by fretting about how long it will take or how hard it will be. We make the journey by taking each day step by step and then repeating it again and again until we reach our destination.  (Joseph B. Wirthlin) But now you have arrived at your destination: By faith in Christ you are in direct relationship with God. Your baptism in Christ was not just washing you up for a fresh start. It also involved dressing you in an adult faith wardrobe—Christ’s life, the fulfillment of God’s original promise. (Galatians 3:25-27) Journeys all have a destination in mind. We may not clearly know the destination when we set out, but we have a general idea. As we go along this journey with Christ, we have a general idea of being washed, made clean, getting a fresh start, but do we know where that 'fresh start' will take us? Not always! We might imagine it just means we 'do over'...

Perhaps one of your new year's resolutions was to worry less and trust God more. If you made that one, you are definitely not alone. It is human nature to worry over things - what to do, where to go, who to see, when it will be done, and on we worry. The more we worry, the less we trust - the more we cast that worry on Jesus, the less it will consume our every thought, plan, and action! Don’t be troubled. Trust in God, and trust in me. (John 14:1) The 'command' is pretty specific - DON'T BE TROUBLED. I imagine God emphasizing that one to us, so I made it all caps! The troubles of this world are so many and seem to mount with each passing day. It almost seems we barely get past yesterday's troubles before new ones are on the horizon. When our eyes are on the troubles we observe around us, we cannot see the glory God has laid out for us. His watchful eye sees far better than ours ever do, so maybe it is time to do as he says and stop being 'troubled' over thi...

The moment we begin to justify sin in our lives is the moment we need most to turn back to what God says about each of us. We were born to do wrong - sinners even before we left our mother's womb. Born with the 'birthright' to sin. We aren't born without a will, but rather with a will that is oftentimes opposed to the will of our Creator. As we begin to develop, we use that 'will' to get what we want. As I have said in the past, we don't need to be told to be selfish, self-centered, or self-directed. It comes quite naturally to want all the toys, attention, and permission to do whatever we want! I was born to do wrong, a sinner before I left my mother’s womb. You want me to be completely loyal, so put true wisdom deep inside of me. Remove my sin and make me pure. Wash me until I am whiter than snow! (Psalm 51:5-7) If we have this 'birthright' of being born sinners, how do we overcome sin? There has to be an exchange of nature - our nature for...

A person’s body that does not have a spirit is dead. It is the same with faith—faith that does nothing is dead! (James 2:26) Faith is meant to produce something - it isn't just an ethereal thing that we 'have' but never put to use. Faith is meant to have feet and hands - it is meant to be put into action. Democritus once said, "Our sins are more easily remembered than our good deeds." Wouldn't it be wonderful if our good deeds were the things others remembered instead of our sinful actions. It takes only one bad deed to damage a reputation, and it can take thousands of good ones to restore it! Faith and deeds are interrelated. You cannot separate one from the other. Ephesians reminds us that we are saved by faith in Jesus Christ, not our 'good deeds', but that living for and in Christ Jesus means that we will produce good deeds. In other words, our life is lived for others, not just ourselves. Prior to welcoming Christ into our lives, we did 'good ...

The one who plants few seeds will have a small harvest. But the one who plants a lot will have a big harvest. Each one of you should give what you have decided in your heart to give. You should not give if it makes you unhappy or if you feel forced to give. God loves those who are happy to give. And God can give you more blessings than you need, and you will always have plenty of everything. You will have enough to give to every good work. (2 Corinthians 9:6-8) How many 'seeds' have you been given? Does each seed only bear one other seed? Not hardly! Seeds have a way of multiplying when they are planted. God doesn't expect us to keep the seed of faith we have been given, but he asks us to 'plant it' deep within the hearts of those around us. Why? It will grow and be able to produce more seeds of faith that can be passed on to others! There are many types of 'seeds' God gives us, faith being only one of those seeds. The seed faith that gives from a heart of ...

Come, let us bow down and worship him! Let us kneel before the Lord who made us. He is our God, and we are the people he cares for,  his sheep that walk by his side . (Psalm 95:6-7) We have been looking into the life of Noah, a man known for his obedience to God and one who stands out for us as a man of 'great faith'. "Noah was warned by God about things that he could not yet see. But he had faith and respect for God, so he built a large boat to save his family. With his faith, Noah showed that the world was wrong. And he became one of those who are made right with God through faith ." (Hebrews 11:7) We might not feel our faith is all that 'great' at times, but if God asked us to do something kind of 'way out there', would we believe it possible God would guide us throughout the task? If we did believe that way, we'd take the steps toward ultimate obedience into all that God asks of us because we'd be assured of his plans, even when we don...

Do not spoil what you have by desiring what you have not; remember that what you now have was once among the things you only hoped for. (Epicurus) While we don't always hope for the best things in life, we all have some form of hope that occupies our minds and somehow motivates our internal man just a bit. Hope for the 'right stuff' and you are praised; hope for the 'wrong stuff' and you are criticized. What is the 'right stuff' in life? Is it really 'stuff'? Or is the 'right stuff' really what another delights in providing in our lives? Who is that 'another' I speak of? You already suspected it - Christ! We cannot hope for anything greater than his presence within us, his purpose being worked out through our lives, and his provision sustaining us as we fulfill that purpose. Faith is what makes real the things we hope for. It is proof of what we cannot see. (Hebrews 11:1) If faith is what 'makes real' the things we hope for, w...

I want to belong to him. In Christ I am right with God, but my being right does not come from following the law. It comes from God through faith. God uses my faith in Christ to make me right with him. All I want is to know Christ and the power that raised him from death. (Philippians 3:9-10) There is no other way to be 'made right' than through Christ Jesus. There is no other set of rules or 'belief system' we need to follow in order to 'gain righteousness'. With that said, why do we still try to 'be made right'? I observe those who have given their hearts to Jesus trying to 'earn' their way into heaven or some such thing, all through 'righteous actions', family traditions, and deeply rooted traditions of 'the church'. For some reason, Satan has been able to convince many that they need 'more' than Christ in order to be 'made right'. They strive without purpose because all God has purposed has been accomplished i...

You don’t know where the wind blows. And you don’t know how a baby grows in its mother’s womb. In the same way, you don’t know what God will do—and he makes everything happen. (Ecclesiastes 11:5) We all have those seasons in life when we know stuff is happening, or about to happen, but we really aren't sure what all is about to come our way. We get a little frightened by the stuff we don't understand, try to make some assumptions about what we believe may be happening, and generally get ourselves all out of sorts when stuff gets harder than we'd like. Then along comes God's intervention and all of a sudden, almost without us noticing, things begin to sort themselves out and life gets a little easier. What we missed in all that in-between stage was the peace God wants us to walk in as we go THROUGH those seasons. Today, we can use 3-D ultrasound to get an almost perfect picture of the baby's features. In the time this passage was recorded for us, a baby was conceale...

While he was preaching God’s word to them, four men arrived carrying a paralyzed man on a mat. They couldn’t bring him to Jesus because of the crowd, so they dug a hole through the roof above his head. Then they lowered the man on his mat, right down in front of Jesus. Seeing their faith, Jesus said to the paralyzed man, “My child, your sins are forgiven.” (Mark 2:2-5) I don't know about you, but I want these kinds of friends in my life! I want friends who will 'bare-handedly' remove rooftops for me! I want to know that regardless of my ability or faith, they are right there when I have needs I may not be able to handle on my own or even recognize I have a way to have to have those needs met outside of the 'normal' way of meeting them. How about you? Do you have those kinds of friends? Do they recognize a need in your life even before you recognize it yourself? If you do, you are truly blessed! The crowd wasn't too much for them - they saw the need of their fri...

She had heard about Jesus, so she came up behind him through the crowd and touched his robe. For she thought to herself, “If I can just touch his robe, I will be healed.” (Mark 5:27-28) There is something 'desperate' about this woman's faith, isn't there? She wasn't afraid of the crowds - even though she would have been deemed 'unclean' because of her disease. She wasn't concerned that her need was too great for the healing touch of her God. She wasn't going to allow her 'weakness' to impact her drive to obtain her healing. She was 'desperately determined'. Some of us need to get this desperate and determined in our pursuit of the things we need God to do in our lives - to 'drive toward' our healing instead of wallowing in our weakness. If I can but touch his robe... She didn't even need to talk with Jesus, have him stop and acknowledge her. Her desperation led to her to believe that even though it would be better to beho...

But he knows where I am going. And when he tests me, I will come out as pure as gold. For I have stayed on God’s paths; I have followed his ways and not turned aside. I have not departed from his commands, but have treasured his words more than daily food. (Job 23:10-12) There are probably more times when you don't know exactly where your life is headed than there are the times you are 100% certain where everything will work out as planned. The good news is that God knows where we are headed, and he has prepared the path we walk upon. Stay on the path and you will come out the other side of this present journey tried and true. Following God's ways in the midst of 'not knowing' is harder than it sounds. We want certainty, but God isn't always going to show us the end from the beginning. We just need to stay the course and trust him even when it doesn't seem like 'all is well'. Job didn't have a great perspective from the top of a dung pile, but...

Elijah said to Elisha, “Tell me what I can do for you before I am taken away.” And Elisha replied, “Please let me inherit a double share of your spirit and become your successor.” “ You have asked a difficult thing ,” Elijah replied. “If you see me when I am taken from you, then you will get your request. But if not, then you won’t.” As they were walking along and talking, suddenly a chariot of fire appeared, drawn by horses of fire. It drove between the two men, separating them, and Elijah was carried by a whirlwind into heaven. Elisha saw it and cried out, “My father! My father! I see the chariots and charioteers of Israel!” And as they disappeared from sight, Elisha tore his clothes in distress. (2 Kings 2:9-12) Have you the faith to ask the difficult things? Some might see Elisha's request as 'ballsy' - maybe even a little 'prideful' since he asked for a 'double portion' of the faith and power Elijah had exhibited while he was alive. Sometimes 'ball...

Love never gives up, never loses faith, is always hopeful, and endures through every circumstance.  (I Corinthians 13:7) I don't know who needs this today, but the words that popped in this passage today were 'love never gives up'. There are times when all we want to do is throw in the towel and just call it quits. It could be in a relationship, a job, some adventure you got yourself into, or even a dream that you have always wanted to see fulfilled. Love never gives up - never loses faith, is always hopeful, and endures - regardless of the circumstances, our lack of whatever it is we need at the moment, or how hard the pressure seems to be 'in the middle of the muddle' we call life. Does that mean whenever we want to give up, we need more love in our lives? No, it just means we turn to the one who loves us beyond our understanding of his love. We turn to Jesus and ask him for whatever it is we need at the moment - to continue with purpose, power, and persistence. ...

Fear is a powerful emotion that some say can actually paralyze you - putting you in total "stall mode" while the world moves on around you.  If you have ever experienced that heart-pounding, sweaty palms, shaky legs kind of fear, you know just how many scenarios run through your head making it almost impossible to exercise clear or rational thought at that moment.  Fear produces an anxiety response physically - it just isn't the emotional upheaval going on inside our heads.   When I am afraid, I put my trust in you. I trust God, so I am not afraid of what people can do to me! I praise God for his promise to me. (Psalm 56:3-4) Scripture comes complete with stories of men and women in positions of great peril, emotional upheaval, and even life-threatening circumstances of both their own and others doing.  We all struggle with similar emotions and the physical responses which come along with them.  We don't stand as uniquely "different" when it comes to the li...

When Jesus returned to Capernaum several days later, the news spread quickly that he was back home. Soon the house where he was staying was so packed with visitors that there was no more room, even outside the door. While he was preaching God’s word to them, four men arrived carrying a paralyzed man on a mat. They couldn’t bring him to Jesus because of the crowd, so they dug a hole through the roof above his head. Then they lowered the man on his mat, right down in front of Jesus. Seeing their faith, Jesus said to the paralyzed man, “My child, your sins are forgiven.” (Mark 2:1-5) Stop for a moment to consider the faith of these friends. There is no indication the man had enough faith to do such a thing - although he certainly had the need. These words struck me this morning - "Seeing THEIR faith". It is important to know that THEIR faith got the man where he needed to be in order to receive his healing. Sometimes it isn't our faith that gets us to that place where our n...

Dear brothers and sisters, when troubles of any kind come your way, consider it an opportunity for great joy. For you know that when your faith is tested, your endurance has a chance to grow. (James 1:2-3) How do we fair when things are a little bit too difficult or different from the 'ordinary' in our lives? If there is uncertainty looming, where do we turn? The answer to those two questions can show us a great deal about where it is we place our trust and on whom we 'rely' when the times are a bit challenging. Panic setting in, or a peace that seems to envelop you - which one best and most often describes you?  When our faith is being tested, it is an opportunity for God to demonstrate his power and grace. If we face difficulties in 'panic mode', we frequently take things into our own hands. In other words, we jump right out of God's arms and attempt to take control of the situation, leaving God somewhere 'back there'. Get out ahead of God's p...